Since the 16th century, Mexico has in many ways been held captive by outsiders. In the modern era, outsiders have most often made their impact through control of the Mexican economy and helping to establish a ruling elite while millions of ordinary citizens face abject poverty. With the advent of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexico's leadership predicted a new wave of economic progress in the country. However, a devaluation of the peso showed that the Mexican economy was as problematical as before. This work first examines the sociopolitical history of the country, and how the events of the past continue to influence the government's policies. Mexico's post-NAFTA future is then explored, with particular emphasis placed on how economic policy could evolve in a period of free trade. A 2013 postscript concludes the work.

Mexican cuisine has emerged as a paradox of globalization. Food enthusiasts throughout the world celebrate the humble taco at the same time that Mexicans are eating fewer tortillas and more processed food. Today Mexico is experiencing an epidemic of diet-related chronic illness. The precipitous rise of obesity and diabetes—attributed to changes in the Mexican diet—has resulted in a public health emergency. In her gripping new book, Alyshia Gálvez exposes how changes in policy following NAFTA have fundamentally altered one of the most basic elements of life in Mexico—sustenance. Mexicans are faced with a food system that favors food security over subsistence agriculture, development over sustainability, market participation over social welfare, and ideologies of self-care over public health. Trade agreements negotiated to improve lives have resulted in unintended consequences for people’s everyday lives.

Examines the sociopolitical history of the country, how events of the past continue to influence the government's policies, and how economic policy will evolve in a period of free trade. Discusses the mechanisms creating Mexico's landed elite and commercial classes, the pauperization of the majority, and the emergence of the dictatorship of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, looking at factors such as nationalism and foreign influence throughout the nation's history. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

On the Zócalo, the main square of Mexico City, Mexico's entire musical history is performed every day. "Mexica" percussionists drum and dance to the music of Aztec rituals on the open plaza. Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral, choristers sing colonial villancicos. Outside the National Palace, the Mexican army marching band plays the "Himno Nacional," a vestige of the nineteenth century. And all around the square, people listen to the contemporary sounds of pop, rock, and música grupera. In all, some seven centuries of music maintain a living presence in the modern city. This book offers an up-to-date, comprehensive history and ethnography of musical rituals in the world's largest city. Mark Pedelty details the dominant musical rites of the Aztec, colonial, national, revolutionary, modern, and contemporary eras, analyzing the role that musical ritual played in governance, resistance, and social change. His approach is twofold. Historical chapters describe the rituals and their functions, while ethnographic chapters explore how these musical forms continue to resonate in contemporary Mexican society. As a whole, the book provides a living record of cultural continuity, change, and vitality.

State domination in the non-Western world is hallmarked by its constantly shifting character. This stimulating book develops a new approach to the study of state formation and state erosion to explain dynamics that neither follow the pathways of development nor the rule of stagnation that dependency theory once suggested. Carefully edited by Klaus Schlichte, this book provides a fresh angle to the study of states with an attempt to 'overcome Weber with Weber'. The approach focuses on the historical authenticity of states and their institutional frameworks, describing the trajectories taken as they react to the effects of changes in their international and local social environments. The emphasis laid on the specific characteristics of individual states does not however lead to the theoretical difficulty of a new contextual relativism. The conceptual design employs sociological categories developed by Max Weber, Norbert Elias, Michel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu and others.